Jacques1397 wrote:Hi
Yes i have a Shield machine but the cheapy , prefer to do it by hand , i saw better results than with my cheapy machine LOL
If it is one of those R300 orbital things, DO NOT use it on your paint... it will probably do more harm than good and is really at most only good enough to spread stuff over your paint, but I would still rather do that by hand anyway.
On to your questions...
Jacques1397 wrote:Hi
Want your guys opinion. Crazy Detailer awesome site and would love to order my stuff since i stay in Nelspruit. I have the following quoestion , what would be the best to start with in the products range since there is so many
Car Shampoo -
Clay -
Polish -
Wax -
Sealant -
Thanks guys , used to use mequiars but want more results and ultimate shine. Both my cars are white if that helps
Firstly, how do you define 'best'.... is it:
Cost
Ease of application
Looks
Durability
etc
^ What is best in my eyes may not be best for you.... but if I were to assume that best means best bang for buck then I would say:
Car Shampoo - Chemical guys maxi suds, because it is cheap when used as a shampoo (one cap to a gallon of water) and it works very well in a foam cannon too. You however can't go wrong with any of the shampoos offered on that site.
Clay - Claymagic has always been my favorite brand of clay.
Polish - a) you do not know that polishing is the act of abrading off your clear coat.... yip..... you are SANDING OFF YOUR PAINT.... b) based on a) I am not a huge proponent of advocating polishing yourself if you have not invested sufficient time into understand what this entails. Sure working by hand is a lot safer than by machine but it is still not completely idiot proof, and is a LOT OF GRAFT.....I would say that working by hand is probably harder to do properly than most people think [give this a read
http://www.vwclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic ... 0&t=176666 ] and so to help, I always recommend using a SMAT (singular Micro Abrasive Technology) product like Meguiars Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound - the reason is that the abrasive particles do not need to be broken down, and thus you can make 1 pass or many over the area you are working. If you chose to use a DAT (Diminishing Abrasive Technology) based polish, like Menzerna, you are 'forced' to work the product through its whole buffing cycle to ensure you properly break down the abrasives.... often this means MORE polishing than if you were using SMAT based polishes, and given that working by hand is hard work, SMAT products will make the job less physically demanding.
Always start with the least aggressive combo to get the job done (so you remove as little paint as possible) and maybe before you start REMOVING PAINT through polishing, you should look at FILLING the defects with a glaze?
Wax / Sealant - I have grouped these together because both are simply a form of protection, often refereed to as your LSP (Last Step Protection). To over-simplify things, waxes are natural and sealants are man made. As such waxes do not last as long (3 to 6 weeks) as the sealants (3 to 6 months) are formulated with cross linking polymers which will bond to the paint, increasing their durability. They will also offer a slightly different look to a wax.
So generally speaking people tend to favor waxes for showcars (where looks are important) and sealants for daily drives where protection is important.
There is also a school of thought that says that sealants will maximise gloss, which on white/silver cars is important as these colors do not lend themselves to deep reflections like darker colors do...
Often people will lay down a coat of sealant (as a durable base) and top it with a wax (to maximize looks) however this opens up a can of worms in that some products do not play well with others and can therefore strip the previous layer.
So..... my advice for a LSP:
Focussing on protection
Collinite 845 (will last many months, looks good and is CHEAP)
Menzerna Powerlock (slightly more expensive than collinite, may slightly outlast it, a bit more slick)
Focussing on filling ability (to hide swirls instead of filling) and fair protection
Autoglym SRP (fills like crazy, adds gloss, doesn't last too long)
Fusso coat (fair amount of filling, excellent sheeting, not sure on durability yet but expect 3 to 6 months)
Again, I cannot see anything that is available on Crazy Detailer being crap....so but a bottle of something, use it often and if you dig it, by more, if not try something else.... <- this is half the fun of detailing anyway
Hope this helps....
)
In fact most waxes will fill to a degree anyway....
